Abercrombie ditches padded bikini for 7-year-olds (Columbus Dispatch)

After a padded bikini marketed to girls as young as 7 drew outrage, Abercrombie & Fitch has raised the target audience to 12 and older, The Columbus Dispatch reported Monday.

The “Ashley” bikini gained attention after a professor at Occidental College posted a blog item calling it “another example of the sexualization of young girls,” The Dispatch reported. Abercrombie Kids addressed concerns on its Facebook page Monday, writing: “We agree with those who say it is best ‘suited’ for girls age 12 and older.”
The Dispatch reported that the bikini remained available for girls as small as 4 feet 8 inches tall, which was the average height of a 10-year-old girl in 2002, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Abercrombie Kids has since taken down the “Ashley” page.

As the father of a girl who will turn 7 in just over a month, I’m right there with all the other appalled parents. Actually, I used to think all bikinis for little girls were kind of silly, until I had a little girl and realized they have trouble getting one-piece down in time when they’ve got to go.